Give me a veggie chilli recipe!

[Pancho]

This evening, I'll add my "most mind bending skunk" for the full dinner at Rogerzilla's effect.

[citoyen]

But I reckon I can ditch the cheat sauce and replace with  a second tin of toms - if I can figure out a decent spice/herb combo. I hate bland food.

I'm lazy so I use Santa Maria (formerly 'Discovery') packet mixes. They're very good. Don't under any circumstances use Old El Paso, which taste horribly artificial, excessively sweet and hardly spicy at all.

Personally, I much prefer black (turtle) beans to red kidney beans. Pinto beans are also very good. This is my method for making a big pot of veg chilli - it's adapted from a recipe I got off the BBC Good Food website when my son was dabbling with vegetarianism a few months ago, and it has quickly become a family favourite. Appropriate quantities are judged by eye rather than measured:

1. Cook a cup of black beans in two cups of water in the pressure cooker at high pressure for 35-40 minutes. You can add a few cloves of garlic and a whole chilli or two for extra flavour.

2. Chop some onions, red peppers, garlic and chillis and cook in olive oil until very soft. (Start doing this while the black beans are cooking.)

3. Stir in a packet of Santa Maria Chilli Con Carne Seasoning Mix (Hot) and cook for a minute or two.

4. Add 2-3 tins of chopped tomatoes and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, cook some rice. Add some frozen peas to the rice for the last few minutes of cooking.

5. Stir in the black beans and cook for another 10 minutes.

6. Serve with the rice, topped with diced feta, chopped fresh coriander and guacamole (ie avocado mashed up with a dash of olive oil and lime juice).

[Valiant]

I make it up as I go along each time but the key for me is to get several different types of beans (especially black beans) and chillis in there. I use plenty of red onions and whatever peppers you prefer. I use Cajun spice mix, chili powder (heat to taste), black and white pepper, gravy granules (whichever you prefer), I throw in some Smash to help with richness and texture. I'll often use some jerk seasoning if I have it and whatever hot sauces are laying about (including insanity sauce). I find the above works whether you use beef, chicken, pork, quorn, soya or mushrooms as the main ingredient. Sling it all in a slow cooker for as long as you can stand to wait. Or do it in about 30mins ins a saucepan. Not as good but still works. It's Chile. Hard to get it very wrong